So(ul)journ!

As the saying goes, “There are many ways to get there from here.” The Camino de Santiago has many different routes, and some are more challenging than others. I have to say that the route we signed up for was purposely selected. We’ve wanted to walk the Camino for a long time, and this is a big deal for us during this Souljourn. We booked our journey with Orbis Travel, selecting the eight-day Portuguese Coastal walk. Orbis designs our route, and instead of staying at the pilgrim albergue, we are booked into hotel rooms with private baths for each evening of our journey. Oh, and they will transport up to 20 kilos of luggage between hotels, necessitating only day packs for our walking portions. Camino purists may decry our robbing ourselves of the “real” and full experience of walking the Camino, but I will say that our decision took a lot of worry out of where we would stay each night. Truthfully, I wanted a very positive experience for what can already be a challenging journey. We also won’t have to lug all our belongings on our backs, which eases the mind. I’m not looking for an easy way out; I’m looking for what will free my mind and spirit to thrive on this journey.

Over eight days, we will walk over 125 km from Baiona, Spain, to Santiago de Compostela, also in Spain. This is the Galicia area of the most northwestern part of Spain, but it is not Portugal! It also misses much of the coastal views, which I was kind of excited about. Our trip is a bit of a misnomer since we thought this was advertised as the Portuguese Coastal Walk, and as such, we would actually walk in Portugal. More research revealed that the coastal route starts in Lisbon, continues up through Porto, and into Spain. If we had started in Porto along the coastal route, it would have doubled our time allocation for this trip and likely made it more strenuous than what we were seeking. And so, our homage to the Camino is to visit Porto, adding a couple of days here, see the sights, enjoy its two million residents, and make discoveries along the way. For instance, Portugal is Porto’s namesake. What better way to enjoy the people and culture as a prelude to our Camino journey?

We arrived in Porto via a flight from Leeds Bradford Airport. We discovered that the metro system was easy to traverse, with trains/trams (much of the system is above ground) running from the airport to the city center. The system operates on zones, and it took four zones from the airport to the city center. Most sites are walkable in the city center, but if necessary, you can travel within two zones for a cheap fare of about a euro and some change. What I will say is, if you are coming here, watch a video on YouTube about using public transport in Porto and you’ll be fine. Don’t be intimidated. It’s all good. If we can do it, you can too.

Porto has not disappointed. Upon arriving at our guesthouse, we were able to check in early, leave our bags, and get on with visiting the Porto Cathedral, which was a twenty-minute walk from our place.

The Porto Cathedral is decorated with a Romanesque exterior complete with smooth finishes and columns, while the interior is Gothic in nature, with intricate details and a lot of gold. As with many European cathedrals, there are altars spread throughout, filling nooks and transepts, with the central high altar most ornate and radiant with gold. The tour includes entrance to a central square cloister, which I would hope was once a garden but is now a patio of stone (perhaps for practicality), and an opportunity to climb the right tower. The climb is well worth it, as you can get a great 360° view of the city. When we arrived, we could hear a guitarist set up in the cathedral patio. In retrospect, the richness of the gold and the simplicity of the guitar music created a striking contrast. The music seemed to have a serene touch, lending a timeless atmosphere to the ornate surroundings of the cathedral.

Afterwards, Jacki and I found an al fresco restaurant where we tried the local port wines along with a salad and focaccia. I said I wasn’t going to post any more photos of food, and yet this simple meal was exactly what we needed.

We walked across the Luis I Bridge, designed with inspiration from the Eiffel Tower, crossing the Douro River from Porto to Vila Nova de Gaia. The walk across the top span provided some amazing views of the Douro and the city of Porto. Over the course of our two days, we walked across both the top and bottom spans of the bridge and also took the tram across once. We had to get the whole experience!

When we checked in at our guesthouse, the clerk encouraged us to eat dinner at a local restaurant (Madureira Restaurant), which has been around for a long time and also featured traditional Portuguese dishes. We took advantage of its outdoor seating and enjoyed the next hour and a half, leisurely eating and drinking the evening away while being cared for by Mario, our waiter. He suggested a steak and cheese platter for me, and Jacki had steak and garlic with spinach. The meal was a perfect ending to our first day in Porto.

On the morning of our second day, we went to Matosinhos Beach, which is a portion of the Portuguese Coastal walk. A visitor center provided an opportunity for pilgrims to get their Camino Passport stamped. We collect our passport at the first hotel, which is still a day out, so I purchased a postcard and the clerk was nice enough to stamp it. While “not official,” it is the first of the stamps we will collect in the days ahead. The weather was foggy and the tide was way out, so it took a while to get a few photos of the Atlantic Ocean. A few years ago, Jacki and I visited Ocean City Beach, and when we looked at the latitude, it closely aligned with Portugal. Now, we were on the other side of the Atlantic. Who knew then that we would be here now? We enjoyed an espresso at the local café on the beach and then headed back to Porto to continue our sightseeing.

We took the metro back to Porto and, fortunately, sat with a woman named Phyllis. She had moved from Seattle to Portugal in 2018 so she could travel around Europe. It was a fascinating conversation as she explained that many Americans can retire in Portugal fairly easily and live off their Social Security pensions. She chose to live in Matosinhos Beach. She shared her story about settling in, learning the language through free classes offered by the Portuguese government, and now, with COVID restrictions lifted, making connections with others throughout Europe. It was an amazing story—picking up, leaving it all behind for the adventure of travel. What a great opportunity! It makes you wonder what you’d be giving up to take on an adventure like that! We lunched at Gazela, promoted in a YouTube video as the place to have a hotdog, which was served up with spicy sauce and cheese. Gazela’s is also famous for the ‘Francesinha,’ a sandwich made with five types of meat, covered in cheese, melted together, and served in a bowl of tomato sauce. Neither Jacki nor I were that hungry, so it will have to wait for another trip. If you get one, let me know what you think.

We might as well own it—the afternoon was pretty much filled with more touristy stuff. Our guide, Ben (his given name is Gabriel, but as the company had two Gabriels, he selected Ben—an abbreviation from his last name that I couldn’t quite catch) of World Tours took us all over the place.

We visited the Livraria Lello bookstore, made famous for its interior woodwork and stained glass ceiling. It’s worth taking the tour for this alone, as you can get into the store without waiting in a queue (which can take hours). The 8€ ticket price is deducted from the purchase of any book. Harry Potter fans will recognize the bookstore’s interior, and for that reason alone, it’s a great place to visit. We toured several local sites, including the Torre dos Clérigos, which sits on top of the highest part of the city and was used by local merchants to spot incoming ships from the ocean. We took a gondola ride and then an hour-long boat tour of the Douro River.

Ben brought his guitar, which was helpful in following him through crowded streets, and then he serenaded us on the cruise. What a great day! I highly recommend taking one of these tours, and if you’re fortunate to get Ben, all the better. Ben also gave the tour in both Spanish and English, smoothly switching between the two, and then speaking Portuguese when necessary.

Our last morning in Porto started early as we had to catch a train to Vigo. All went well, but we missed breakfast at the guesthouse. Not to worry—we were able to grab a local pastry that hit the spot until lunch later that day. When our train ran into a problem, we were transferred to buses in Viana do Castelo, a coastal city on the Portuguese Coastal route, where we saw an albergue (pilgrim hotel). While we didn’t plan on a stop here, we can at least say we did (no stamp, but we know).

One thing you learn along the way is to breathe and walk in a relaxed manner (as Joyce Rupp’s book title reminds us). Now, as we sit on the bus, the prelude to the Camino has concluded, and our next chapter in this Souljourn will start in Baiona, Spain, involving another bus trip from Vigo to Baiona.